Have you heard of the Brewer’s Diet?

I first heard about the Brewers Diet on Leonie & Victoria’s Normal Boring Free Birth Christmas podcast and it got me thinking about our relationship with food and medications in pregnancy. During my NHS career one of the (MANY) assessments we do with those in our care at booking is make an assumption about those who might have issues with their blood pressure and recommend aspirin based on
• 1st pregnancy;
• age;
• BMI (which we know is B.S); and
• Family history, amongst other things, there was regularly a debate about the amount and it seemed to be obstetrician dependent when trying to plan this care.

Between listening to this podcast I’ve seen Billie Harrigan discuss on her socials about positive dietary impacts you can make to your pregnancy using long known remedies that have fallen out of favour fast when put against pharmaceutical medicines.

In your pregnancy with both NHS and independent care you’ll be offered blood pressure and urine checks at every appointment as standard. It’s your choice to accept or decline these routine tests, as it is worth noting that external factors can influence these results which can/will change the care plan you are on (stress, worry, what you’ve eaten or drunk prior to testing) but the healthcare professional will act on the results as they find them.

Dr Tom Brewer recommends the following daily intake in pregnancy:
• drink 800mls or more of milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 servings of fish, chicken, lean beef, lamb or pork, or any kind of cheese

• 2 daily servings of fresh, green, leafy vegetables such as mustard, collard, or turnip greens, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, or cabbage
• 5 servings of whole-wheat bread, corn tortillas, or cereal
• 1 piece of citrus fruit or a glass of orange or grapefruit juice
• 1 large green pepper, papaya, or tomato
• 3 or more pats of butter
• 5 servings of yellow-or orange-colored vegetables five times a week
• liver once a week if you like it;
• 1 whole baked potato three times a week
• all the water and fluids you need to prevent thirst; and
• all the salt you need to make your food taste good.

These are not optimum amounts, these are minimums, and you go from there.

He advises that you need 80 to 100 grams of protein every day to prevent toxemia. For vegetarians he suggests you can substitute vegetable proteins as long as they are “complete” proteins and you don’t have trouble digesting them (rice with beans, peanut butter, tofu, nuts, and seeds all provide protein.)

You can read his interview here: http://healthybirth.net/an-interview-with-dr-tom-brewer/

Let me know your thoughts in the comments

Sam x